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In this video, we’ll discuss how to create UX Content that provides help and guidance at all times, anticipating needs and solving problems before users get lost or frustrated.
New Terms:
Helpful UX Content - Detailed content that provides relevant, instructional support; keeps users engaged; and provides logical pathways for users.
Website Examples:
Basecamp
Emma
Sony PlayStation
Apple Trade-In Program
Further Reading:
How to Write an Effective Knowledge Base Article, by Gregory Ciotti
Camtasia: How to Make Tutorial Videos
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UX content can help customers, clients and other users become more familiar and
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comfortable, with the services you provided.
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But once those people have a basic understanding and familiarity,
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you wanna support them and make them feel secure.
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So let's discuss another form of UX content to focus on, helpful UX content.
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When you hear the term helpful UX content,
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one might assume we're talking about the stuff you create for
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a help or support section on a website and that's certainly true.
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When we create helpful UX content, we want to provide support for
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our users, but we can also use it keep users engaged and
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create logical pathways for users to follow.
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So helpful UX content may show up in many areas of your website or app.
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Let's focus on how we create it.
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If you provide products or services with any element of complexity to them,
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you need to provide some level of support.
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And as we've been saying, you've gotta do more than the minimum.
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So listing an email address or providing a vague help form isn't gonna cut it.
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Go the extra mile and anticipate what users need and when they'll need it.
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Providing some logical easy to understand UX content could really help them out.
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One strategy is to create a knowledge base.
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A section of content that provides instructional information for your users.
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This makes sense if you have a product that requires specific knowledge
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to use it.
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Or if you offer advanced features that could be explained through things like
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step by step instructions, downloadable guides, or walk through videos.
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For example, Basecamp has it's own knowledge base,
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offering detailed information about how to manage permissions for projects.
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Or how to upgrade your workspace from version 2 to 3.
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Ultimately, you wanna ensure users will be able successfully use whatever
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you've created for them.
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Making the overall experience feel more supportive and reliable for your user.
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Have you ever bought something or tried to use an online platform,
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only to get to some point where you give up?
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Maybe you can't figure out how it works, or
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you get overwhelmed by all its many features, details.
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In many cases, users may abandon a product altogether, or
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another goal of this helpful UX content is to keep users engaged.
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The idea is that if you can help users better understand your offerings and
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educate and support them through various issues, those users will stay motivated.
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They'll want to keep using whatever you've created.
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Emma's support pages were created to help explain to customers how their email
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service works and what things mean, like specific email response analytics.
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But they don't just provide definitions,
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they write the content in an approachable, easy to understand way.
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An important point here is that if you can speak your user's language,
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they'll understand and appreciate the content.
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That means writing in a style that's clear and familiar to them.
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Using terms and even a personality that resonates with them.
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And it's even more helpful when you focus on details that are personally
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important to them.
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If you understand who your users are and what they are trying to accomplish,
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then you'll know which features they need help understanding.
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How to convey information to them and
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what UX content you need to create to support their goals.
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One more goal we mentioned for
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helpful UX content was to create logical pathways for our users.
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No matter what kind of website or app you build,
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you'll want your users to take certain actions.
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And sometimes, it'll make sense for them to follow a path or
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a specific order of actions.
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In UX circles, this might also be known as the user flow.
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Like if someone searches for a game in the PlayStation Store, it makes sense for
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Sony to provide a path to purchase that game once the user finds it.
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In this case, the user interface will draw attention to that path with a big button.
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But a great example of this helpful UX content is the website for
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the Apple trade-in program.
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If a customer is considering trading in their laptop or iPhone,
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Apple will walk them through a series of questions that determines which device
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they've got and it's current condition.
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Each step is simple and friendly and includes short messages,
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with easy choices and a progress bar at the top.
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They also include little, what does this mean links, with short,
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simple explanations.
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And by the end, Apple has all the info they need to provide an estimate.
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Which is what the user wanted, but
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they also give the user more logical paths related to this.
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Like actually going forward with the trad-in so the user can get their money.
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In the end, helpful UX content does more than just provide help.
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It moves your users further down important pathways, removing barriers and
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making the choice to take action much easier and much more attractive.
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When you've got a potential customer ready to trade-in hardware,
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there's a big difference between Apple providing the address of the nearest
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Apple Store, and forcing the customer to physically go there, or
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getting users one click away from competing the actual process.
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So, how can you use this content to help your users?
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Identify those paths.
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Where do users arrive on your site and where do they go?
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What features do they use, or what content do they look for?
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Using helpful UX content, you could guide them closer to a purchase or
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expand their knowledge.
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But regardless of their action, your helpful content could build trust and
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faith in your website or app.
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If you can anticipate your users' needs and what they are trying to do,
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your UX content will be perfectly helpful and effective.
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